Prepare

Are you ready to get your headaches under control?

Are You Ready?

Being prepared for a visit to a primary care provider for evaluation of headaches is important for the effective treatment of migraine. Answer the questions below to see if you’re ready to get headaches under control!

Question 1 of 7

I have made an appointment with a primary care provider specifically to talk about headaches.

Be sure to set up an appointment specifically to talk about headaches. Research shows that this will lead to better evaluation and treatment, compared to just mentioning headaches during another visit.

You are well prepared for your visit to your primary care provider. Remember these key points to make your visit a fruitful one:

Make an appointment specifically to talk about your headaches

Be able to explain how headaches affect your life

Keep track of how frequent your headaches happen

Be able to describe how your headaches feel (e.g., sharp, throbbing, dull, pounding)

Know what medications you’ve already tried and whether you think they have helped

If you are having frequent headaches that are interfering with school, work, and/or other activities, your healthcare provider can prescribe a daily medicine to help prevent headaches. Strong narcotic/opioid medications should never be prescribed for your headaches; medications that contain opioids can actually make headaches much worse.

CLICK HERE to print out an information sheet to take to your doctor about using the Headache Relief Guide website

Headache Diary

Using a headache diary can be a helpful way to keep track of how often headaches are happening and how severe they are. This information can be helpful to your doctor to know what treatment to choose. Headache diaries also can help you be a detective with your headaches – for example, you may be able to find out that headaches always seem to occur at about the same time or on more stressful days.

Click on “Customize Your Headache Diary” to create a headache diary that you can print out and use.

Be able to describe how your headaches feel (e.g., sharp, throbbing, dull, pounding)

Know what medications you’ve already tried and whether you think they have helped

If you are having frequent headaches that are interfering with school, work, and/or other activities, your healthcare provider can prescribe a daily medicine to help prevent headaches. Strong narcotic/opioid medications should never be prescribed for your headaches; medications that contain opioids can actually make headaches much worse.